Lighter and fuel filling for same



May 4, 1943. A. HARRIS LIGHTER AND FUEL QFILLVINGVFOR SAME Filed Aug. 4,1942 Patented May 4, 1943 2,318,307 LIGHTER AND FUEL FILLING FOR SAMEAlexander Harris, Scobeyville, N. J., assignor to Art Metal Works, Inc.,a corporation of New Jersey Application August 4, 1942, Serial No.453,492

3 Claims.

This invention relates to cigar or cigarette lighters and a method offilling the same with fuel.

Lighters of the pyrophoric type are customarily supplied with a rathervolatile, substantially I colorless liquid fuel comprising naphtha andthe like materials. This fuel is applied through a filling opening, toabsorbent material such as cotton contained in the fuel receptacle. Awick protruding from the receptacle is ordinarily provided with itsinner end embraced by the absorbent so as to be fed with fuel from thelatter. In filling such a lighter with the usual fuel, it is sometimesdifiicult to determine just when an adequate amount of fuel has beenintroduced to insure that the wick will be properly saturated, yetwithout unduly flooding either the wick or the absorbent in the.fuelreceptacle. If insufficient fuel is introduced to adequately wet thewick, particularly when the lighter is to be used for the first time,this will of course prevent proper operation of the lighter and possiblyprevent purchase of the article, because the customer may assume thatits operation is undependable. On the other hand, if an excess of fuelis introduced, the consequent flooding of the wick and the area aroundthe same, may be an an.- noyance as well as sometimes providing a vapormixture in the region of the wick which will be too rich for readycombustion upon operation of the pyrophoric sparking mechanism of thelighter. Also when such lighters are placedon sale, the purchasers orthe salesmen sometimes attempt to operate or demonstrate the lighterbefore it is filled with fuel, since it is difficult, except by carefulinspection of the wick or of the absorbent after removal of the fillingopening cap, to determine whether the lighter has been filled with fuelor not.

The present invention provides a simple, convenient and inexpensive wayof overcoming the above-noted difficulties. According to the presentinvention, a liquid fuel is used which incorporates a distinctivelycolored ingredient. This fuel is poured through the filling opening ontothe absorbent material in the lighter until such time as the distinctivecolor appears on the protruding end of the wick. As soon as the colorhas thus appeared on the wick, the introduction of fuel is stopped andaccordingly flooding of the wick is prevented. Also at this time, theuser, by viewing the absorbent through the filling opening, will notethat the absorbent has a more deeply colored appearance which revealsthe fact that it has absorbed all of the fuelwhich it is able to retainwithout having an excess of free liquid in the receptacle such as wouldbe liable to flood the wick at later times, when the lighter is in use.

Various further and more specific objects, features and advantages ofthe invention will appear from the detailed description given belowtaken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustratemerely by way of example one form of lighter and the manner in which thesame may be filled with fuel in accordance with the invention.

The particular form of lighter, as shown at I0, is of the type disclosedin the patent to Louis V. Aronson, No. 2,002,845, granted May 28, 1935,although it will be understood that the invention may be used withvarious other known types of cigar or cigarette lighters. In the formshown, the lighter fuel receptacle is filled with absorbent, as at H,which surrounds the inner portions of a wick, the protruding end ofwhich is indicated at l2. This wick is adapted to be lighted by suitablepyrophoric sparking mechanism such for example as disclosed in theabove-mentioned patent. The bottom of the receptacle may be providedwith a filling opening as at l3 normally provided with a suitableclosure.

As shown, in filling the lighter the same may be inverted, whereupon thefuel may be poured in from a container, such as a glass bottle l4,provided with a filling spout l5 secured in place on the bottle as by acap Hi. In case the fuel supply receptacle has rigid walls, such asglass, which cannot be flexed to force out the fuel, then it isdesirable to provide an air vent as at ll through the cap l6. .Anothersuitable cap l8, if desired, may be secured on the side of the fillingspout I5. Hence when the fuel supply receptacle is not in actual use,cap l6 may be screwed off and the cap l8 applied instead, to seal thebottle or container against evaporation of the fuel.

The fuel contained in the supply receptacle or bottle It incorporates adistinctively colored ingredient, preferred examples of which are givenbelow. In filling the lighter, after removal of the filling openingclosure, the lighter may be held in inverted position as shown in thedrawings, while a stream of the fluid from the supply container l4 maybe introduced through spout l5 until the user notes the appearence ofthe distinctive fuel color upon the exposed protruding end of the wickl2. The introduction of fuel is then preferably promptly discontinued.At the moment when an adequate amount of the colored fuel has beenintroduced, the user will also observe through the filling opening l3, asubstantially greater intensity of color on the absorbent material. Thislatter method of detecting when an adequate amount of fuel has beenintroduced, is particularly useful in cases where the lighter has beenpreviously operated so that the wick has becomed blackened, thusinterfering with easy detection of the change of color upon the wick.However, there will ordinarily be a narrow band around the base of thewick which does not become blackened or charred, but which will retainthe natural color of the wicking material until or unless the wick iswetted with the colored fuel.

The wicking customarily used in such lighters is a fibrous material,such as cotton or asbestos, which is at least initially white, or onlyfaintly colored, or slightly gray as in the case of asbestos wicking.The term normally substantially colorless as used in the appended claimsis intended to apply to wicks of these various types, upon which thedistinctive color of the fuel will be readily apparent when the wick iswetted therewith. The absorbent material in the fuel receptacle usuallycomprises ordinary white cotton. When the distinctively colored fuel ispoured onto this material only in such quantities as will be quicklyabsorbed, the cotton will be somewhat colored but not deely colored. Assoon as sufficient fuel has been applied to adequately saturate thecotton, the color will appear of the much deeper shade indicating thatthe fuel supply should be discontinued. If an excess of free fuel floodsthe top of the cotton in the receptacle, this will be readily apparentsince the colored fuel will more or less obscure the cotton from view,and such excess should be withdrawn or shaken out before the lighter isused, to prevent danger of flooding the wick.

The use of the distinctively colored fuel has a further advantage thatthe color affords a means for identifying a proper safe fuel forlighters preventing confusion, and unintended or accidental use of othertypes of liquids in filling the lighters.

While a wide variety of dyes or other coloring materials may beincorporated in the fuel for accomplishing the purposes of thisinvention, the following will serve as illustrative examples which havebeen found satisfactory:

(a) Dye powder known and available in the trade as "National Oil Red 0,or alternatively National Oil Yellow 2681, in an amount comprisingone-fifth of one percent by weight of the fuel mixture, is added tolighter fuel of wellknown types heretofore used.

, amount comprising two-fifths of one percent by weight of the fuelmixture, is added to lighter fuel of well-known types heretofore used.

In some cases, instead of using substantially colorless wicking andabsorbent, the same may be distinctively colored with a colorcontrasting with that used in the fuel, to achieve the purposes andadvantages of the invention.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect toparticular preferred examples, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art after understanding the invention, that various changes andfurther modifications may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appendedclaims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a cigar or cigarette lighter having a fuelreceptacle filled with absorbent and a wick of normally substantiallycolorless fibrous material protruding therefrom, a body of fuelincorporating a distinctively colored ingredient, said fuelsubstantially saturating said absorbent and wick, thereby lending adistinctive color to said wick for revealing that the lighter has beenfilled with such fuel.

2. In the filling of cigar or cigarette lighters of types having a fuelreceptacle filled with absorbent associated with a protruding wick ofnormally substantially colorless fibrous material, the step comprisingintroducing into such absorbent at a point remote from such wick, liquidfuel incorporating a. distinctively colored ingredient, until such timeas the distinctive color of the liquid embodying such ingredient appearson the protruding wick, to thereby indicate when sufficient fuel hasbeen introduced, and discontinuing the introduction of such fuel beforethe distinctive deeper color shade of the unabsorbed liquid appears toany substantial extent on said absorbent.

3. In combination with a cigar or cigarette .lighter having a fuelreceptacle filled with absorbent and a wick protruding therefrom, a bodyof fuel incorporating a distinctively colored ingredient contrastingwhen in liquid form with the color or shade of the wick when dry, saidfuel substantially saturating said absorbent and wick, thereby lending adistinctive appearance to said wick for revealing that the lighter hasbeen filled with such fuel.

- ALEXANDER. HARRIS.

